The Doll in the Attic
by Anthony Bault
Summary: Inspired by artwork by The Mie of DeviantArt seen at http: An argument with Amy prompts a strange dream for Sonic. But does this dream hold a deeper meaning? NOT part of the HOA series.


The Doll in the Attic  
By Anthony Bault  
  
Sonic and related characters are (c) Sega  
  
Author's forward:  
  
I was inspired to write this short story after The Fallout Shelter, the message board for Ashes of the Fourth Wall, Rouge's Gallery, Author Space, and other fancomics, showcased a picture by The Mie from DeviantArt. This picture, combined with a fic challenge I posted on NetRaptor's message board, gave me a great idea for a short fic. This fic, however, is NOT part of my Arcadia series.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
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"I said stop it, Amy!"  
  
It never failed. Any time Sonic wanted to just spend some time by himself, there was Amy following him as usual to join him and bug the hell out of him...  
  
...and, as with every time she appears, grab him in a tight bear hug.  
  
This time, she was being particularly persistent. She refused to let go until Sonic agreed to do something with her.  
  
"Come on, Sonic," Amy said, continuing the bear hug. "I just want to spend the day with you. We can go shopping...get some chili dogs...maybe check out the engagement rings at the jewelry..."  
  
Finally, Sonic had enough. He forced Amy to let go, not caring that she was hurt from being thrown to the ground in the process, and then began to yell at her. "That's IT!!! I have HAD IT with you, Amy!!! Get it through you thick skull...I will NOT marry you! Want to know why?!? Because you don't treat me well! You treat me as I'm a prize to win rather than someone to love. I don't like being treated like an object, Amy! If you can't even understand that...then I don't even want you as a friend! Now, LEAVE...ME...ALONE!!!" With that, he ran off...leaving a very stunned Amy to just stare at him as she sat down on the payment.  
  
Within a few minutes...Amy began crying.  
  
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Sonic managed to find a place to relax after a short while, finding solace within the shade of a tree near Emerald Coast. He felt as if a great weight was lifted off his chest. Apparently, ranting at Amy like he did felt good.  
  
At least, it did at first.  
  
Eventually, he began to feel guilty about needing to yell at her. He wished he could have said what he said without having to yell at her, but she needed to get the message and didn't seem to be interested in listening to reason.  
  
"She'll get over it..." Sonic said to himself as he drifted to sleep. "It's not as if she's the type to just give up." He eventually fell asleep in the shade of the tree...succumbing to a dream.  
  
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In the dream, Sonic found himself in what looked like a large house. He was certain he hadn't seen it before, but for some reason it felt familiar to him. Also, he felt like he knew where to go, because he seemed drawn to a room on the upper floor.  
  
Upon entering the room, he looked into what looked like a children's playroom. He noticed a small pile of dolls in the corner, but what really caught his attention about them was the fact that they resembled his friends. There was a Knuckles doll, a Cream doll, a Rouge doll, a Shadow doll...and even a Tails doll!  
  
(A/N: No...not THAT Tails Doll!)  
  
It was then that something seemed out of place. Where was an Amy doll? Why wasn't she among the group? It was then that he felt compelled to go to another part of the house.  
  
The attic.  
  
He climbed a flight of stairs to the attic of the house, disliking the look of it as it looked like years of dust were allowed to accumulate. It was then that he noticed something in the corner of it...something pink. He walked over to where he saw the pink, and gasped as he saw what...or rather who...it was.  
  
It was the missing Amy doll.  
  
He was shocked at how the doll looked, though. Her clothing was ragged and disheveled, with a few ribbons haphazardly strewn across various parts of her body. She also had a sad look on her face, as if all happiness was literally sucked out of her.  
  
Just as Sonic was about to pick it up, he felt himself being dragged back. He couldn't see who it was, but almost immediately afterwards he saw a hand reach down and grab the doll.  
  
As soon as this happened, Sonic swore he heard a voice...an older woman's voice. It said to him, "Now, Sonic...I told you if you weren't going to play with and take better care of your toys, they would be taken away from you."  
  
Sonic couldn't understand. This wasn't a toy...this was someone he knew. He didn't want her taken away from him. He tried to cry out to whoever was taking Amy away, but his voice didn't seem to work. All he could do was try to scream louder and louder to try to get heard by whoever took Amy away...  
  
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"NO!!!"  
  
He woke up screaming, eliciting a few looks from people who walked by as he was napping. He wasn't paying attention, however. His mind was focused on what he saw in his dream...what it meant...  
  
...what it could mean...  
  
"Amy!" Sonic said to himself, now afraid of what he had said to her earlier. He immediately revved up his legs and ran towards where he left Amy. When he couldn't see her anywhere in the area, he began to panic.  
  
"Her apartment..." Sonic said, hoping that was where she could be. He then ran towards her apartment near the center of the city, praying to himself that she was there.  
  
Upon arriving, he found that the door was unlocked. This made him worry more. He called for her and started looking around...eventually arriving at her room. What he saw, besides an overabundance of pink, was something that shocked him.  
  
Amy was on the floor, in the same manner as he had saw in his dream. A sad face, with visible tear stains running down both cheeks, and disheveled clothing. She had obviously been crying, and had now withdrawn into a state of depression. As Sonic walked in, she slowly looked up to look at him, but went back to her original depressed glance...looking down at the floor, almost as if she was too ashamed to look at him.  
  
"Hey, Ames..." Sonic said, sitting across from her and trying to be as friendly as possible. "Can we talk?"  
  
Amy was silent, not seeming to pay attention as Sonic spoke. Sonic continued to speak, nonetheless.  
  
"Look, Amy...I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you," Sonic said. "I didn't mean to say that I no longer want to be your friend, because I like having you for a friend. I mean...you're a sweet kid and you're willing to help me out whenever Buttnik's causing trouble. It's just...I don't like it when you pester me to marry you or do stuff with you. I mean...I can understand, knowing how many girls want to hang with someone as cool as me."  
  
He added that last part, hoping to elicit a giggle or something. However, Amy was still silent, and this began to worry Sonic. "Come on, Amy...say something. Can't you just try to smile...for me?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Sonic was almost tempted to cry himself, looking at how sad Amy was. He then bowed his head to try to keep his own tears in and spoke up again, this time barely speaking in a whisper. "Please...I don't want to lose you..."  
  
As he continued to look down, he heard Amy finally speak. "I'm...not sad...because of anything you did, Sonic..."  
  
Sonic looked up and saw Amy was finally looking up at him. He also saw that fresh tears were beginning to fall from her eyes as she spoke.  
  
"I...I'm just..." Amy said, trying to get the words out. "You were right, Sonic. I was treating you like a prize to win."  
  
"Amy..." Sonic began to say, but Amy held up a gloved paw, prompting him to let her finish.  
  
"I...realized just how awful I was treating you, Sonic," Amy continued to say, wiping away a couple of tears as she spoke. "You didn't deserve to be pestered like that...and I certainly don't deserve to have you as a friend for treating you like that." She then looked back down at the floor and said, "Maybe...it will be best for you if I stay away from you." As she felt a few new tears form in her eyes from saying that, she also felt something else.  
  
She felt Sonic lift her to her feet, getting her to stand up. She then felt something else that surprised her.  
  
She was being drawn into a hug.  
  
"I don't want you to stay away," Sonic said to her in a soft voice. "I want the happy-go-lucky girl I know back."  
  
Amy couldn't understand why he was doing this. Previously, he would do everything in his power to get away from her and her hugging spree. Now, he was the one giving HER a hug.  
  
Despite her offer to leave him alone, and all that she's done...he doesn't want her to leave him.  
  
She allowed herself to be drawn into the hug, and almost immediately afterwards began to cry. These tears, however, were a mix of guilt from how she had treated him earlier...and gratitude for his willingness to forgive her. Sonic continued to hug her as she cried on his shoulder, hoping that she would feel better after a good cry.  
  
After a while, Amy finally calmed down and Sonic released his hug. Amy stepped back a bit and looked at him, finally allowing a small smile to form.  
  
"Fell better now?" Sonic asked her, cracking a small smile of his own. Not his usual cocky smile, however...but a warm, kind smile.  
  
Amy nodded and then said, "Thank you, Sonic. I...didn't think I was worth forgiving."  
  
"That was kind of my fault, Ames," Sonic said. "In fact, what say we make a deal?"  
  
Amy looked up in attention, curious as to what he was getting at, and Sonic continued to speak. "If you can agree to not trying to get me to marry you...I'll agree to spend some time with you."  
  
Amy understood was Sonic was saying, or at least trying to say, and nodded in agreement. "Sure."  
  
Sonic smiled and drew Amy into another hug. As he hugged her, he whispered, "Thank you."  
  
The two of them stayed like that for the next few minutes, both seeming to find comfort in each other's arms...and each other's friendship.  
  
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The next few days after that day were some of the best Sonic had ever experienced. He and Amy did a lot of things together. For the most part, it was just hanging out...either going to see a movie or just grabbing some chilidogs. Though he wasn't too thrilled at going shopping with Amy, since she seemed to want to try every dress in the store TWICE, he still had fun.  
  
It wasn't just Amy he spent more time with, however...but his other friends as well. Usually this involved either helping Tails with one of his inventions, challenging Shadow to a race, or even trying to keep Knuckles and Rouge from trying to kill each other.  
  
His friends, as a whole, were surprised at this change in Sonic. Normally he would be a lone wolf, wanting to just be by himself and doing his own thing. Now, it was if he couldn't stand to be by himself and was a lot more outgoing than he had been in the past. All in all, they liked this change in him.  
  
But only Sonic knew the real truth.  
  
That dream he had showed him something. Even though he accused Amy of treating him as an object, he had actually done the same as well...with all of his friends. Just like a doll thrown to the side, he would toss his friends aside whenever he wanted to do his own thing...and as such, he was at risk of losing them if he ever neglected them.  
  
Like Amy.  
  
He made a promise to himself never to do that ever again. Like a cherished toy, his friends were precious to him, and he didn't think he could live with himself if he ever lost any of them.  
  
Besides...who knows? Maybe, one day when he was a little older...and when he was ready...  
  
Maybe...he will see what kind of rings they had the jewelry store.  
  
THE END.  
  
Comments? Suggestions? E-mail me at awbault@comcast.net. 


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